The Forgotten One
by Cicero Williams
Summary: Marcus Contraga is left for dead in a Tiberium field, but is rescued by an underground society known as the Forgotten. His life is forever changed.
1. I remember

I remember.

I remember when good and evil were so clearly defined.

I remember when I knew that the Global Defense Initiative was doing everything in its power to protect the world. When they were the heroes. When I knew I was on the right side.

I remember when the war seemed distant.

I remember when it seemed like something to do after college. When I signed up to join the GDI army. When it seemed like I would do something worth writing about.

I remember when I had a normal life.

I remember when I graduated from college. When I had a beautiful and supportive girlfriend named Karen. When I had a job at the newspaper. When I had a band that played in nightclubs and bars. When I had my whole life ahead of me.

I remember when that changed.

I remember when this all began.


	2. So it begins

My band had been playing a gig at the Roadhouse. We had just finished our last song. I decided to tell the audience that I wouldn't be playing with the band anymore, as I had completed GDI training, and my platoon was shipping out. I received a lot of applause for that.

I walked off stage, talking with Rick, the bass player. Saying goodbye to everyone and stepping outside the building, I got out my cell phone and started to call Karen. But before I could, two big guys in black walked up to me.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We would like you to come with us," said the one on the left. He had a beard and a thick Russian accent.

I was about to say "And if I don't?" when the one on the right pulled out a small submachine gun, almost like the Uzis you see on documentaries of the Gulf Wars. "Oh shit… look, I don't have any money with me. You can have my cell--"

"Shut up!" yelled the man with the gun. "Come with us!" He grabbed my shoulder with one hand and spun me around, keeping the gun pressed against my back.

They took me to a van and shoved me in the back. The Russian got in the driver's seat and the other one sat next to me, pointing the gun right at my chest. "Vamonos!" the man next to me yelled.

"Have patience, Javier. No one knows what we've done, and this man cannot escape," the Russian said as he started the van.

"I don't care, Dmitriy," said Javier. "I just want to do this and be done as soon as possible."

"It almost seems as if you are having second thoughts."

"So what if I am? It's not as if you have never second guessed yourself. Remember when we were discharged from--"

"Never bring that up again!" Dmitriy shouted. "We must do this for the glory of the Brotherhood!"

"If we get discovered, we will be executed! Besides, the Brotherhood does not want us! I don't even know why we're doing this!"

"I told you, we must set an example for all traitors of the Vision!"

I started to protest, "What are you talking a--"

"Silence!" Dmitriy roared. "You will find out soon enough what we do to 'people' like you who sympathize with the evil in the world!"

"Here it is," muttered Javier. "Let's get this over with."

I looked out the window. At first I could see nothing, until I realized we were stopped about 10 feet from an expansive Tiberium field. "Oh sh-- aagghh"


	3. Tiberium poisoning

The moment I came to, I wished I hadn't. I felt like someone had hit me over the head with a brick. I tried to remember what had happened, but I couldn't. Upon opening my eyes, only one eye could see, and even then, all that could be seen were bright shimmers. With some difficulty, I sat up, rubbed my eyes and blinked. My vision cleared, and what I saw horrified me. I was sitting on the ground, surrounded on all sides by Tiberium.

"Oh… oh… oh my G-g-god," I stuttered. Fear rose up in me and would not stop. "Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God."

Suddenly, I felt tired. My limbs felt like lead. Collapsing down again, I felt as if my strength were draining away from me. My face started to burn. I struggled to reach up and feel it, and my fingers touched something hard and smooth. My entire body ached. My arm fell back to the ground. That's when the headache began. A headache like I had never experienced before. It felt like my head was going to split open. I cried out in pain.

I thought I saw two figures walking in the field. "SAVE ME!" I screamed. "SAVE ME!"

As I blacked out, it almost felt as if hands were grabbing me.


	4. Shiner

It felt like the world's worst hangover. My head was throbbing, and my legs ached. Unable to remember what had happened, I sat up quickly, bumping my head on something. I tried opening my eyes, but the lights were so blinding, I shut them immediately. Once again, I opened them, but more slowly this time, so as to let them adjust. When I could endure the brightness, I opened them all the way and looked around the room. There were two people in the room staring at me, a man and a woman.

"I see you are faring better, brother Marcus," said the man.

"How… how do you know my name?"

"We felt we would be better off knowing who you were, so we checked for your identification card."

"Name: Marcus Contraga," said the woman, reading off of what looked like an armed services I.D. "Date of Birth: 14 September, 2013. Hair: Black. Eyes: Grey. Height: 1.5 m. Weight: 90 kg. Rank: Private. Battalion: 242nd Light Infantry Division."

"Who are you guys?" I asked. As the woman came closer, I took in a sharp breath. The right side of her face was pockmarked with light green crystals.

"We are the Forgotten, Mr. Contraga," she said, showing no response to my gasp. "We are those who have been affected by that terrible, wonderful, life-taking, live-giving element called Tiberium. Some call us "mutants". Others call us "shiners". We are shunned. We are ignored. We are forgotten, as if forgetting us makes us, and the negative effects of Tiberium, go away."

"Leave me alone!" I yelled.

"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid you might catch whatever it is we have? I tell you, it is too late for that."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at yourself in this mirror, brother," said the man, taking out a glass mirror.

I looked and shuddered. All over my face, small Tiberium crystals were embedded in my skin. I touched my face, and felt the smooth, hard spots. Suddenly, I remembered what had happened. The concert. The two men. The van. Seeing the Tiberium field. And then… pain. Excruciating pain. The mere memory of it made my cry out softly. I started to stutter, "Y-y-you mean…?"

"Yes, Mr. Contraga," said the woman. "You have been exposed to lethal amounts of Tiberium poisoning. Had we not rescued you, you would have died, or worse. It is true, though, that this is not a pleasant alternative. You are now one of us. You are a shiner."


	5. Denial

A shiner. Those words hit me like a speeding truck. "What? Oh, oh… no… oh God… no. No, you can't be right. This isn't happening. This must be a dream… a nightmare. Oh God… no, no, no…"

"I can understand your pain, brother," the man said, "But as painful as this is, I'm afraid you must admit that--"

"You shut up!" I yelled. "And stop calling me brother! I'm not like you!"

"Unfortunately, you _are_ like us, Mr. Contraga," the woman said firmly. "I understand what you're going through, but--"

"NO! You have _no idea_ what I'm going through!" I bolted for the door, only to find it locked. I wrestled with the handle, but it still wouldn't open.

The woman put her hand on my shoulder, but I swatted it away. "Take me to the city," I demanded.

"What?"

"I said take me back to the freaking city!"

"Brother Marcus," the man said. "If you go back there, you will only find shame, fear, and pain. But if you stay with us, we can give you a new life, a new family, a new--"

"Take… me… to… the… city…" I growled.

"Very well," the woman said. "I warn you though; this will not be a pleasant experience."


	6. Shock of my life

They led me out of the room and out of the complex where we had been, taking me to what they said was a motor pool. It looked just like a normal civilian parking lot, however. There were cars, trucks, and vans, and everything seemed as it should under everyday circumstances. But all this was lost on me. I was too confused. I had no idea what to do or feel. Nothing seemed right. Nothing seemed real.

The man got into the driver's seat of a van. The woman opened the side door and motioned for me to get inside. When both of us got in, the man handed me a long piece of dark cloth.

"What the hell is this?"

"It's a blindfold," the man said. "I wish I didn't have to insist you wear it, but rules are rules. If you join us, you won't have to put it on…"

"Screw you."

The man sighed and put the van into reverse, pulling out of the parking space. I put the blindfold on. I heard him shift gears again, and the van moved forward.

"So where do you want to be dropped off? Your place?"

"Just take me back to the Roadhouse. I can find my way back from there."

"Ah, yes. Roy's Roadhouse. I remember spending time there. I actually was there a lot, before I--"

"Just shut up and drive," I interrupted.

After a long and silent drive, we stopped. "You can take off the blindfold now."

I took it off, and saw the Roadhouse, closed for the night. An involuntary shudder went down my spine. Fighting the strange feeling that was rising up in me, I opened the door and jumped out of the van. Without so much as a backward glance, I ran, not stopping until I reached my apartment building. I paused to catch my breath and went inside, pounding up the stairs. I got to the apartment Karen and I shared, when I heard voices inside. It sounded like Karen and Rick.

"--hope he's okay," I heard Karen say.

"It's just weird," came Rick's voice. "I had been talking with him after the concert. He said, 'Adios, I'm going to call Karen.' He never called?"

"No. It's not like him!"

"His car was still in the parking lot. I just don't see how he could have disappeared!"

I decided to stop listening and knock on the door. I heard a chair move. "I'll go see who that is," said Karen.

"It's me!" I yelled.

"What? Oh my god!" she flung open the door and hugged me. "I was so worried…"

Then she looked up. At my face. And screamed.

Rick ran up. "What's wrong?" he started. Then he stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh my God. Mark… you're… you're a… shut the door Karen!"

The door slammed in my face. I felt liked a ton of rocks fell on me. Dumbstruck, my mouth dropped open. I almost collapsed. Somehow, I found my way down the stairs and out of the building. When I got outside, I saw the van, with the woman waiting outside. She saw the way I looked.

"Come with us," she said, opening the door.

I staggered in. I could hardly talk. For the first time since fifth grade, I broke down and cried.


End file.
